Doors of Death
by GeekyGirlMeow
Summary: They did it. They finally reached the Doors. But now that they're there, who's going to close them? Will they make it out alive? Please don't skip first chapter, a little hint of Leo/Nico. All other couples are the same. R&R please!
1. PrologueAN

**I have to admit, this wasn't all my idea. I got inspired to make this from 'It's Gonna Be Me' by BlueRoseRabbit, 'house of hades' by goldenbug, and 'How Far We've Come' by viria13. (The last one is on deviantart, the others are fanfiction)**

**Please don't hurt me... I read/saw all of these and went OH MY GODS THESE WOULD WORK AWESOME TOGETHER!**

**I added some parts of my own, but a large amount of credit goes to these awesome people. Please go check those out before you read, the story will probably make more sense then! (Well, I kind of follow the plot of 'house of hades', so that's a spoiler, and so is 'How Far We've Come'. But definitely read 'It's Gonna Be Me' first and check out the others after)**

**This story probably won't be very long, I have to work on my other story as well. (I actually finished it, so I'm posting all of the chapters now)**

**Ok, thanks! Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Doors

"There they are!" Jason yelled. Leo risked a glance over his shoulder. Jason was right. Right there, standing boldly, were the Doors of Death, right within the temple.

Leo remembered the deal he had struck with Nico. If Nico was somehow unavailable, Leo would close the Doors.

Lobbing a fireball at a monster, he searched for the familiar head of black hair. Leo and Nico had become very good friends. They were both outcasts in their own ways, the odd ones out, but two odd numbers make an even. Nico hated Leo sometimes, and sometimes Leo was scared of Nico. But their friendship worked like that. They comforted each other, and their pasts were similar enough that they were like brothers.

_There. _Nico was passed out. Leo cursed. Nico had been weak, but insisted on joining them to the temple. Leo's demeanor became a lot more serious once he realized that it was now upon his shoulders to close the Doors.

The group of demigods finished off the small army of monsters and dashed into the temple before any more could come. Leo dragged Nico in, and Frank slammed the temple doors shut.

"Now what?" Hazel asked.

"We wait for Percy and Annabeth." Frank answered, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall. They sat for a while. Nico's breathing was returning to normal. _Hades must realize he's here, _Leo thought, gazing at Nico, _and is healing him._

The sound of footsteps caused the demigods to shoot up, taking out their weapons. The walking sounds turned the corner, revealing Percy and Annabeth. They didn't look too good.

Percy's arm was bent the wrong way, he was covered in bruises, he had multiple gashes, and he was limping a little. Annabeth's ankle hadn't healed (in fact, it looked worse), and she was just as heavily injured as Percy. Annabeth was leaning heavily on Percy as they limped to their friends.

"Percy! Annabeth!" Piper cried, rushing forward. The group surrounded the two.

Leo, however, snuck around them. He went into Tartarus, and started dragging one of the doors closed. The doors were huge, and heavy, so it took Leo a while, but he did it. The door closed with a slam, catching the other demigods' attention. Leo was dragging the other door closed.

"Leo?" Percy asked, eyes wide.

"I made a promise. With Nico." Leo grunted. "If he couldn't close the Doors, I would."

_**An oath to keep with a final breath.**_

"Leo, you can't!" Piper said, tears pouring out of her eyes.

"Well, you guys can't either." Leo said. The door was almost closed now. "You need each other. And I can't break up a relationship of one of my friends like that.

"Percy." Leo said, dead serious. "You have to close the other doors. And get them to camp. Besides, you were a leader for both camps at one point, right? They'll listen to you.

"The rest of you guys should help out." Leo smiled grimly. "Oh, and tell Nico he snores."

The demigods were crying, all of them. Percy nodded. "Got it, Leo. Be careful."

Leo smiled. "Careful was never my strong point." He waved.

The Doors closed. The 'BAM' that shook the room woke Nico, who sat upright.

"What, who.." He paused when he saw the crying demigods and the doors closed from the inside. A gear clicked into place. "No..."

"Leo.."

_With Leo..._

Leo could hear the monsters approaching. He made a snap decision.

Setting his finger of fire, he focused hard enough to make it white-hot. He dragged it along the crack where the doors met, sufficiently welding them so they could never open again.

Leo pulled out a flaming 5-pound hammer from his belt. He faced the oncoming tsunami of monsters. He took a deep breath and steeled himself.

Soon, he was surrounded.


	3. Chapter 2: Dead in Tartarus

_3 months later..._

There had never been a funeral for Leo. No one wanted to face his sacrifice, and Nico kept claiming that he was alive. Barely, but alive.

Percy wasn't sure. He and Annabeth had barely survived for a week, and he didn't know how Leo could live 3 months in that hell hole (literally). But he still hung onto that shred of hope that Leo could be alive. He wanted to believe in his friend.

Hazel didn't want to check, but she did. And sure enough, there was a tiny little spark of life that shouldn't be there. When she focused, she recognized it as Leo.

Eventually, it had been 4 months. The Hades and Pluto kids were having a harder and harder time sensing him. Leo Valdez, Closer of the Doors of Death, fire-wielder, and Hero of Olympus, was proclaimed dead.

Nico was sitting in the forest, on Zeus' fist, his eyes pressed closed, focusing. He had been like that for three days, ever since Leo had 'died'. He was searching Tartarus for Leo's spark. Suddenly, an aura very much like his own appeared, near the Doors.

A spark grew, and both aura vanished quickly. In a rush, a presence hit his mind, on he hadn't seen since 4 months ago. He almost fell over.

Nico's eyes snapped open, and he ran for camp, ignoring his fatigue and hunger.

Leo... Leo...

He was _alive._

_In Tartarus, a few minutes earlier..._

Leo sat, collapsed against the Doors. His head was in his hands, and he was breathing heavily. He was so close to death, he almost believed it himself. A dome of fire was around him, but was quickly diminishing as he felt himself reach his end.

"Hello." He heard a whisper. Opening his eyes, he saw a girl. She was a lot younger, maybe 6 or 7. She had long black hair with bangs that covered one of her eyes. Her black endless, eyes. Like Nico's. She had a black windbreaker, grey jeans, black combat boots, and a black t-shirt with a Day of the Dead skull.

She held out a pale, cold hand, and Leo took it, pulling himself up. The girl was surprisingly strong for a kindergartener. She smiled softly. "It's not your time yet. Come with me." She squeezed his hand, and he could feel a small bit of his strength return.

Then everything was black. He felt like his face was peeling off. They were shadow travelling, he was sure of it. They landed on soft sand, and the little girl collapsed.

He picked her up. He wasn't sure how he did that, seeing how he could barely stand himself, but she weighed less than his hammer did. She really was a runt.

Leo carried her over to a tree, and sat down in the shade with her by his side. He didn't know who the little girl was, but she saved his life.

"Hello." A voice greeted, and Leo looked up. A girl, maybe 15 or 16, was above him. She had caramel hair in a braid and almond eyes.

"Hi." Leo said, and was surprised at his own voice. It seemed a little deeper, or maybe that was because he hadn't talked for 4 months. Monsters don't really carry conversations well.

"My name is Calypso. You're safe now, hero. Rest." Her voice was compelling, and his eyelids became heavy.

Leo remembered Percy mentioning a Calypso. If he had been fine, Leo would too, most likely.

For the first time in what felt like years, Leo fell into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 3: Silena and the Living

_At Camp Half-Blood_

"Guys!" Nico yelled, running into the amphitheater. They had been about to burn Leo's shroud. "He's not dead!"

Hazel closed her eyes and searched for Leo's presence. There it was, not quite as strong as it had been originally, but stronger than before. And it wasn't in Tartarus. Her eyes snapped open and filled with tears. "It's true." She whispered. "He's not dead..."

The other Hades and Pluto kids who were there tried as well, and all found the same answer. Leo Valdez was not dead.

A cheer came up among the crowd. Everyone was rejoicing at the news. Nico got a lot of hugs, along with all the other death god kids. They weren't used to so much affection, so it was a bit weird for them.

Nico was the happiest of all of them. His friend, previously thought as a dead man, was anything but. He was alive and kicking.

He smiled as he stared at the campfire. It was red, kind of like Leo's.

Now Nico had something to believe in. His friend wasn't gone.

_With Leo_

His eyes opened slowly. He was in a bed, in a cave. Another bed across the room from him was empty. He stood up and stretched. Multiple joints popped.

As he started walking out, he caught a glance of himself in a mirror propped up against the wall. He flinched.

His shirt was torn, bloody, and burnt from the non-stop battles. One of the suspenders he always wore was also torn, and his tool belt was black. His pants were shredded and burnt mostly, so instead of a normal length, they reached to just below his knees. His shoes didn't exist anymore. He had a bandage around his head, one on his stomach, one on his right calf, one on each of his wrists/hands, one on his upper left arm, and he could feel one on his left leg as well, although his pants kept that from view. His hair was a total mop, it had grown really long. He also had a stubble.

So, he looked like a homeless person. He sighed and wondered how long it had been since he entered Tartarus. He was glad that the Doors weren't opening again any time soon. Welding them shut might have been a bit too much, but he wouldn't have to worry about it ever again in his lifetime.

He walked out and didn't see Calypso, but he did spot the little girl who had saved him.

Then he remembered the myth about Calypso and how she couldn't leave her island, and how the Fates always sent someone who could never stay. He hated it, because he couldn't stay...

"Hi Leo." The little girl whispered. Leo wondered if she ever talked loudly, and how she knew his name.

"Hey." Leo smiled at her. "Thanks, by the way. You really helped me out down there."

She blushed and hid her face behind her hair. "It's...it's no problem..."

"By the way, what's your name?" Leo asked, crouching down. She was only about 3 feet tall, so he felt tall whenever he stood next to her.

"Silena Grey. I'm... I'm a daughter of Hades." She looked at him through her hair. "Nico really missed you. Everyone thinks you're a hero at camp."

"How long has it been? Since I got trapped in Tartarus?"

"Um... Four months." She whispered.

Leo whistled. "That's a hell of a long time." He sighed. "I'm just glad to be out of there."

She smiled. "The people at camp proclaimed you dead. Nico didn't believe them, but he was having trouble sensing you. But I knew." She said, staring at the ground. "I knew you couldn't be dead. So I left camp, and shadow travelled into Tartarus. And that's when I found you." She smiled at him.

Leo grinned. It felt weird, to smile and talk, because he hadn't in so long. "That's really a brave thing for you to do, especially since you didn't even know me. I really appreciate it."

"What... what was it like in there?"

Leo smile disappeared. Silena became instantly flustered. "You, you don't , y'know, have to answer..." Her voice faded into nothing.

He smiled a little. "It's fine. C'mere." He sat down under a tree and Silena sat in his lap. He was a bit surprised at that, he wasn't used to anyone other than Nico being comfortable around him, but he relaxed, leaning against the tree.

"It was dark. The only light was my fire and that lava that wasn't too far from me. Monsters were always around me, and I was constantly fighting for my life. I only got short breaks when the monsters got bored of me. Those breaks were few and far inbetween. You're lucky you came in during one of them. I was always dead on my feet, and the monsters just wanted to see me suffer. They didn't want to kill me quite yet, because that would be boring. For them. I'd rather be dead than keep living in that place.

"I felt like my soul was slowly being pulled from my body. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered trying to go on. I never talked, because monsters don't really make the best conversations." He smiled when Silena giggled. "I only slept for about an hour at a time. I always got nightmares, and when I woke up, I would be living one. Really lost my resolve sometimes. But I knew that if anyone missed me, anyone at all, they would somehow get me out of there. So I decided to hold out until they came for me."

Silena turned to face him, a serious look on her face. "Everyone missed you. Even the people who had never met you heard about your story and tried to figure out a way to free you. Some even thought of going down there so you wouldn't be so alone." She told him. "The Hades and Pluto kids were constantly checking for your presence. It's practically the first thing I learned to do, look and make sure you were alive."

Leo's eyes were wide. He stared at the sky, a brilliant blue. "Wow. People care that much?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Nico was almost going insane. I bet you he knew the second you got out of Tartarus."

"Really?"

"Yep. When I left, he had gone into a trance, searching for you. He wouldn't eat or sleep, and that's when I knew that you couldn't be dead. If you were, he would have known it firsthand." Silena said with utmost sincerity.

Leo smiled; Nico was a great friend. They had a lot to talk about when he got back. "Random question; when are we heading back?"

"Calypso says you're not going anywhere until you heal totally. And I mean _completely._" Silena said. "So I'd say about a month or so."

Leo whistled. "Let's hope I heal fast."

Silena nodded. "Let's hope."


	5. Chapter 4: Returning Home

_A month later, at Camp Half Blood..._

It had been assured. Leo was not dead.

It was also said that a girl named Silena Grey, the youngest of the Hades cabin, was most likely with him. It was almost unbelievable that Silena, the shy, quiet little 6-year old girl, had saved Leo from certain doom.

There was only one problem. They could sense he was somewhere, just couldn't figure out _where_.

Percy had suggested that he was on Ogygia, Calypso's island. That way he wouldn't really be anywhere. That was the most likely suggestion.

All they could do was wait. Wait and hope that Leo and Silena came home soon.

It was _killing_ Nico.

He hadn't seen his best friend in half a year, and he hadn't seen his little sister in a month. He wanted to see one of them, both of them, whichever, he didn't care. He was glad (understatement of the year) that they were both alive and fine, but he wanted to _see_ them. Unfortunately, he couldn't IM them, since they were on Ogygia, and he couldn't shadow-travel there, _because they were on Ogygia. _Leo didn't carry a cell phone or any other way for Nico to contact him as a mortal would.

Nico found himself staying near the beach, often sleeping in trees nearby. A lot of the other people who had been on the quest, like Hazel (whenever she was there), Percy, Annabeth, and Piper, would do the same thing. Percy would usually fall asleep _in _the water. Which wasn't a big deal for him.

One day, Nico woke up to see a speck on the horizon that looked a little like a raft. Even from miles away, he swore he heard "Land ho, matey!".

Nico nearly fell out of his tree. And then he did, actually, fall out of the tree. He scrambled up and ran to get Percy and everyone else.

Leo was home.

_Ogygia, a day earlier..._

Leo grinned. Finally, after a month on the island, he was allowed to go home. His forehead had a nasty-looking scar that most likely would never fade, along with one on his torso and on his leg.

He had been surprised to realize that his time in Tartarus had put some muscle on him. He was still kind of scrawny, but less so. He had also grown a few inches, and was about the same height as Percy (Basing it on the last time Leo saw him). He had a million ideas bouncing around in his head, which included a way to fix Festus. He had studied Archimedes' scrolls whenever he could, and had finally perfected a major detonation bomb. (Calypso had not been happy when she woke up to having a new cove, but Leo was overjoyed.)

Silena had started talking louder, at least to him. She warned that when they got back, she'd probably go back to being quiet. Leo and Silena became like siblings, they knew everything about each other.

Calypso showed them a raft. "This will take you anywhere in the world, just tell it where to go. But it only works once."

Leo smiled. "Thanks."

Silena hugged Calypso goodbye. They climbed on the raft.

Leo didn't even have to think about where he wanted to go. "Camp Half-Blood."

They played hand games as the little boat sped along. They passed everything extremely fast, speeding along coastlines and oceans.

Soon, the coast of camp was in sight. Leo screamed "Land ho, matey!", making Silena giggle. He swore he saw someone fall out of a tree and run back to camp.

When the boat came up against shore, he was instantly tackled and fell on his back. Silena giggled and slipped away, preferring to watch from a distance.

"Um, ow?" He said, muffled by a shoulder.

"Leo!" Piper said, smiling at him. "You're back!"

"Yep, Captain Leo has returned." He grinned. "Now can you get off me? I'm sure other people want to be reminded of my awesomeness as well."

Piper smacked his shoulder lightly, but got up and helped him up as well. Then she noticed the scar on his head. "Where did you get that?!" Piper said, pointing to it.

"Tartarus, Beauty Queen. Where else?" He paused. "I think it was sphinx, but I might be wrong... Maybe it was the minotaur... or that Kampe thing..."

"Stop. Just, stop. I want to be excited you're here first, so you can make me worry for your life later."

"Leo!" Annabeth came next, along with Percy. They both hugged him.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked, examining him like she was checking for anything wrong.

"Woah, you're only a little bit shorter than me now! And you're not that scrawny anymore!" Percy said, bringing his hand to show that Leo was about 2 inches shorter.

"Dammit, I thought I was as tall as you now!" Leo cursed. Percy laughed and messed with his hair. Leo grumbled a long string of profanities.

Hazel and Frank came running next. "Leo! You're back!" Hazel practically tackled him, but he was prepared this time. Frank just grinned.

"Yep, I have arrived." Leo joked.

"Hey man, sorry about.. well, you know..." Frank said awkwardly.

"No hard feelings, man, none at all." Leo grinned, and they high-fived.

Jason came as well, and they hugged too.

"Man, I am just getting so many hugs today." Leo said, smiling. He didn't think anything could ruin his mood. "By the way, where's Nico?"

"Speak of the devil." Leo heard, and Percy moved, and Nico was standing there.

"And he shall arrive." Leo finished. He held out his arms. "Hug?"

"I don't really do hugs." Nico said smiling.

"Mm-hm." Leo said unbelievingly, and then hugged Nico anyway. Nico hugged back after a second.

The broke apart and high-fived as well. That's when Leo saw the sand on Nico's jeans.

"So you're the person I saw fall out of the tree." Leo said, crossing his arms and nodding like he had just solved a puzzle.

Nico just rolled his eyes and punched Leo in the arm. "I'm just glad you're back."

"Glad to be back." Leo answered. The eight talked for awhile, and Leo was glad to hear that everything between the two camps had been cleared up. They eventually headed into camp, arms slung over each other's shoulders. Nico was at one end, holding hands with his sister. (Silena)

There was a huge party for Leo and Silena for being brave, yada yada yada, and they held a game of Capture the Flag and a sing-along campfire, even though it was Sunday. No one really cared. Camp Jupiter was also there, and there was one hell of a huge feast.

Leo showed the other people in his cabin the scrolls, and they started working on a bunch of new projects in Bunker 9. Leo was excited when he finally fixed up Festus and rewired him into his old body. Festus started to help out with defending orders again, but mostly just kind of hung around Leo.

Leo sometimes had nightmares about Tartarus, but he had three other people who understood and had the same nightmares.

Silena and Nico were his best friends. The three of them were practically inseparable. Silena had a crush on Leo at one point, but he never realized it, and she got over it before anything dramatic happened.

Leo was just glad to be home again.

**~*THE END*~**

**I wasn't sure how to end this, but I did. I know that there's a little tiny Nico/Leo in the end part if you squint, but that's just me trying to figure out if I ship them romantically or if I just want them to be the bestest friends ever.**

**Hope you enjoyed, R&R please!**


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